Credit: The Associated Press

Bolivia's President Evo Morales pauses during a news conference at the government palace in La Paz, Bolivia, Tuesday, March 5, 2013.

VIENNA — Bolivia's president says the coca leaf is not cocaine, defending the practice of chewing it after securing de-facto U.N. acceptance of it in his country.

Evo Morales says chewing the leaf of the plant used to make cocaine should not be confused with the harmful effects of its end products. He spoke Monday at the annual meeting of the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs.